Blog Post 2: Themes Reflection
The theme of social responsibility was the one I was the most apprehensive about going into the Better Lives lecture. In my opinion, I think people think social responsibility is an obligation, and should be punished if not practiced. Everyone is their own free being and no one should be obliged to do something they do not wish to in the name of ‘social responsibility.’ The immediate examples that come to mind are certain vegans forcing their lifestyle and shaming those who do not embrace it or people who those who spread indignity on celebrities who do not publicly donate millions to a relevant cause. This use of ‘social responsibility’ had always seemed to me selfish, forceful and very un-democratic-like.
However, after Claire Swift’s Intro to Social Responsibility changed my perspective somewhat on this subject. She talked about an initiative she took with her BA Womenswear second year students of 2010. This initiative called HMP Send consisted of visiting prisons and working alongside incarcerated women to create upcycled clothing. After further investigation, Swift realized there were certain inequalities and needs not being fulfilled for women in jail. She therefore decided to dedicate her time to this program.
I personally thought this was a very seamless and relevant way to expose social responsibility to her students. I believe it is important to expose young students, indeed those who are going to have to dictate the future, to social issues such as this one. Having this exposure opens up their minds not only to one more of the many problems our world faces today, but also to the possibilities of how to improve the lives of those who face prison injustice. Those students now have the choice to utilize their resources and gear their work towards improving this problem (or another of their choice); a choice they would not have been aware of having if they were not aware of the problem in the first place.
Although I have realized that social responsibility can be performed in many different ways, I still believe it is up to the up to the person in question to choose whether they partake in x activity. There should not be pressure from the general public. Furthermore, exposing a group of people, such as students, to certain social problems in a very closely connected manner does seem like an efficient and seamless way to introduce social responsibility to them, rather than just telling them what they should do. Having a personal experience with an issues creates a connection and certainly helps people to be more empathetic.
4th May 2020 @ 8:50 pm
Blog Post Four – Peer Review:
I read Juliette Eleuterio’s blog post and thought she reflected well on the theme of social responsibility. I felt that she expressed her opinions about social responsibility very well. She mentioned that prior to the lecture, she was apprehensive about the subject, as she feels that social responsibility is encouraged heavily on society and is seen as an obligation to follow, rather than a voluntary act. Within the lecture, Claire swift explained how she conducted her own research with her students to spread awareness of social responsibility in prisons in a creative, innovative way. Juliet claimed that after hearing this, she changed her first initial opinion of how social responsibility is promoted and encouraged; and that she believes this way of exposing the students to social responsibility is ‘seamless’ and ‘relevant’. I thought she communicated her ideas well, especially the point she made about how this practise not only helps the students see how they could help change the environment and spread awareness , but also how this could help better the lives of people living in prison. I think Juliette could have elaborated more on this point and explained why it benefits them and affects their lives positively.
She closed off the blog with the conclusion that she realises now that there are many different and better ways to encourage social responsibility, but her first initial opinion remains. Her final point included how personal experience individuals have with a particular issue creates a connection, and therefore, greater empathy is expressed, which I feel could be further explained and explored. She could elaborate on this more by exploring the different ways in which she can create this ‘connection’ to involve and interest people in the protection and conservation of the planet.
Overall, I think the theme of social responsibility is clearly demonstrated throughout the blog, with examples of how it can be encouraged in a positive, motivational way, that helps improve the lives of others as well as the planet. There are also clear examples of the importance of encouraging young students to get them involved in improving their future.